1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a processing apparatus and a processing method for processing to dry substrates such as, for example, LCD substrates or semiconductor wafers.
2. Description of the Related Art
In fabrication of liquid crystal displays (LCD) or semiconductors, the technology called "lithography" is applied to form resist patterns on the surface of the LCD substrate or semiconductor wafer serving as the bases. Lithography processing contains various processes such as substrate cleaning, substrate drying, resist application to the substrate surface and exposure and development of such resist. In these processes, heaters are used for the above drying process, for example. As an example of such heaters, a apparatus to place a substrate on a base for substrate heating is known. Such a heater is provided with several pins projecting upward from the base to support the bottom of the substrate when the substrate is received and passed so that it receives the substrate above the base by raising the pins and passes the received substrate to the base by lowering the pins. After heating on the base, it can lift the substrate above the base by pushing the substrate with pins from the bottom.
However, when a substrate made of an insulating material (LCD substrate, in particular) is placed on the base, static electricity tends to be generated between the substrate and the top of the base. For this reason, the substrate may adhere to the top of the base and thereby preventing smooth lifting when it is to be lifted by pins from the base. In particular, an LCD substrate constituted by a thin glass plate is easily warped, which makes its separation from the base difficult. In addition, when the substrate is lifted above the base, the polarization effect may cause charges of opposite polarities on the top and bottom face of the substrate.